(From top) JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav tries to hold on to state party president Basistha Narayan Singh after a portion of the stage broke at a meeting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday, Bihar Congress president Mehboob Ali Quaiser, chief minister Nitish Kumar and Bihar Leader of Opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqui. Pictures by Prem Singh and The Telegraph

Patna, July 13: The Bihar Congress has apparently fallen in the wrong box by officially opposing chief minister Nitish Kumar-sponsored signature campaign for the special category status to the state that hit Jantar Mantar in New Delhi today.

The ruling JD(U)-BJP alliance is gearing up to put Sonia Gandhi’s already beleaguered outfit — reduced to four MLAs in 2010 Assembly elections — on the mat in the Assembly session beginning from Friday. The Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) chief, Mehboob Ali Quaiser, described the campaign as a “political stunt” on the day it proceeded from here on July 10.

Quaiser’s remark has, in a way, given baton to the ruling JD(U)-BJP members to beat the Congress in the Assembly because it had supported the resolution to accord special category status to the state in the floor of the House during Nitish’s previous tenure.

“How can the BPCC president describe the status campaign as a political stunt when the Congress’s legislature party has supported it in the House? It reflects that there is no co-ordination between the Congress’s organisational set-up and its legislature party. The party high command must take Quaiser to task for his irresponsible statement,” BJP MLC Sanjay Jha said.

In fact, a section of the Congress leaders are also embarrassed over Quaiser’s “politically incorrect” statement.

“Giving the special status is the Centre’s discretion. Why should a party leader holding crucial position speak against it?” a senior Congress leader asked. “Even our senior leader Kapil Sibal had refrained from speaking on it when he last visited Bihar,” he said.

“Quaiser should have taken lessons from the party’s senior leaders,” he added.

The Congress and even the RJD leaders are convinced that the Congress-led UPA-II might not give the special category status to Bihar, sensing that Nitish would pocket the credit for it. Besides, they also feel that the Centre might not find it “feasible” to do it at the time when Orissa and Rajasthan are also clamouring for the same facility.

Barring Quaiser, other senior leaders of the Congress here are apparently circumspect while dealing with the issue. Asked about Quaiser’s remark, senior Congress leader Premchand Mishra gave almost similar opinion but in a politically correct tenor.

“The Nitish-led government has been unable to spend the huge financial assistance given by the Centre. It is indulging in dramatics to turn people’s attention from its failure,” he said.

Premchand, however, smartly evaded making a mention of the special category status.

It is not that the coming session of the state’s bi-cameral legislature would offer only the ruling BJP-JD(U) alliance the opportunity to pounce on the Congress in particular and the Opposition in general.

“A JD(U) MLA’s son beating a traffic cop is an instance of anarchy resurfacing in the state. Recently, a former BJP minister, Ramadhar Singh, went to jail in connection of giving inflammatory speeches. Another BJP MP, Kiriti Azad was arrested today for ransacking a government establishment,” said the Leader of Opposition, Abdul Bari Siddiqui.

“We too have several issues to put the government on the mat. It will not be a one-sided batting,” he added. But then the Opposition against 206 ruling alliance’s MLAs in 243-member Assembly continues to be too feeble to score in the House. What might have demoralised the Opposition further is the resounding victory of the BJP in the Purnea Assembly seat byelection.